Creepers are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,209 to J. L. Pool, issued Jul. 19, 1994, discloses a Low Profile Mechanics Creeper. This patent is directed to the feature of mis-shaping the frame of the creeper upon which the creeper platform is mounted to position caster wheel pivot mounts above the planar platform surface upon which the mechanic lies. However, there is no provision for folding the creeper into a compact storage configuration when not in use, which is an objective of the present invention.
Representative of several problems encountered in prior art foldable creepers is U.S. Pat. No. 1,226,585 of W. E. Parker, et al., May 15, 1917. To enable folding, in this case, inward folding of side flaps is required before folding end to end. The creeper is undesirably complex and interferes with any provision of mid-length weight bearing caster wheels. Accordingly, the mid-position hinging structure must include a weight bearing mechanism of sufficient ruggedness to support a substantial portion of a mechanic's weight and probable added forces should the mechanic push against the vehicle undercarriage. The ability to carry the mechanic's weight at the midsection and the reliability of the hinging mechanism is further compromised by the placement of a pair of weight supporting caster wheels at either end of the creeper, thus tending to sag the creeper and distort the folding mechanisms. Furthermore, with the caster wheels mounted directly onto the platform underside for support, further disadvantages occur. Thus, it is difficult to position the platform close to the floor working surface. This is a problem since space to reach the undercarriage is usually limited. Also the platform structure must be shaped to allow the caster wheels to protrude through the platform in the folded position.
A further problem with the prior art foldable creepers is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,068 to T. Shockley, Sep. 19, 1995 for Transformable Mechanic's Creeper, wherein the cushions of the creeper must be removed before folding and stored separately.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel and improved foldable creeper that resolves the aforesaid prior art problems.
A further object is to provide a foldable creeper which is strong, rugged and simple to construct without complex or expensive assembly and which is easily and safely folded into a compact and easily handled assembly.
Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.